By Kara Pound
A community chorus exists to showcase a group of musicians as diverse as the community it represents. From doctors and lawyers to stay-at-home moms, retirees and students, St. Augustine Community Chorus (SACC) is a vocal window into Northeast Florida’s musical soul.
Founded in 1948 by William Dixon, SACC has undergone many transformations and has welcomed musical legends such as Dr. Janet Graham and Dr. Carl Peters II to the helm. Today, the chorus is a non-profit organization that depends on ticket sales and donations from audiences and donors to continue their mission of sharing music with the community.
“Our Christmas season typically runs around 100 members with around 70 members for our March Pops program and 50 to 60 members for our Masterworks program in May,” explains Mike Sanflippo, SACC’s Music Director since 2015. “Traditionally, we do three concerts a year and a large majority of our members are returnees. We even have a few people who have been singing with us since the 1980s.”
St. Augustine Community Chorus welcomes anyone who enjoys singing sacred and secular chorus music. This means that the song selection runs the gamut from holy hymns to popular modern music. Membership also means a bit of a rigorous practice schedule with around ten weeks of weekly rehearsals before each program.
“Our Christmas program will feature selections of Handel’s Messiah and other traditional Christmas music,” says Sanflippo. “It’s mostly sacred music, but we’re trying to open that up a little bit to include some secular pieces. Our March Pops program is all secular music and our May Masterworks program can go either way.”
Sanflippo says he’s especially excited for the chorus’ March performance, called Stage to Screen, which will feature songs from opera, theatre, film and more. In May, SACC welcomes renowned composer and classical guitarist Loren Fortna for their Masterworks performance.
Also under the SACC umbrella is the St. Augustine Youth Chorus, which features singers eight years and up from St. Augustine and the surrounding areas.
“They are an independent chorus, and we include them in our Christmas concert and, occasionally, others,” Sanflippo explains. “Artistic expression and growth are all a part of what it means to be a community chorus. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and support each other’s weaknesses with our strengths. We surely are a community chorus with people from all walks of life.”
From Prophecy to Peace” will feature selections from Handel’s Messiah and an audience sing-along. It will be presented by the St. Augustine Community Chorus and the St. Augustine Youth Chorus with directors Michael Sanflippo and Kerry Fradley, respectively, and will also feature the Chamber Orchestra. Performances are slated for December 16th at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 17th at 2 p.m. at Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, 60 Cathedral Place. Tickets are $20 for adults in advance and $25 at the door. Admission for children, students and military is $5. Tickets are available at the St. Augustine Community Chorus website here.
